Toy.



BEET AVAILABLE COPY W. 0. ROBINSON;

TOY.

APPLICATION FILED APR.15,1912. I

Patented Nov. 12, 1912.

UNITED STATES PATENT onnion WILLIAM C. ROBINSON, 01 CAMBRIDGE, MASSACHUSETTS.

TOY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

. l atentedNov. 12,1912.

Application filed April 15, 1912. Serial No. 690,738.

fication, like letters on the drawings representing like parts. v

The present invention relates to a toy,

. and is embodied in a toy in which any suitable figure is adapted to be moved intermittingly bya ball or roller running down an inclired chute, there being a plurality of said balls which are automatically controlled in their movement.

The toy embodying the invention comprises two or more inclined planes or chutes, the upper of which is adapted to contain a line of marbles,or other rolling devices, the Said chute beihg provided with a recess below'the plane of, the chute into which a marble will drop, thus constituting a stop for the row of marbles behind. A disengaging finger is pivotally supported below the said recess and projects into the same, so

that when moved on its pivot, it will push,

I A projection from the finger lies in the path ,of the marbles, as they travel through the lower chute, and is engaged by the marble previousl released, thus causing the next marble o the line to proceed. Each marble is arranged to engage any suitable device which will. actuate a gure or the like.

A further feature of the invention consists .in arrangin the toy'so that it can be folded into a smal space when not in use, and easily packed.

Figure-l is a perspective view of a toy embodying the invention; Fig. 2 shows, in full and dotted lines, the means for folding the toyior packing.

- Referring to Fig. 1, the toy is provided with two inclined chutes 1 and 2, the chute 2 being below the chute 1, and inclined 1n the opposite direction, so that an objec dro ping out of the chute 1 into the chute J no 1 continue its travel in the opposite du'ectlon. Approximately at the middle of the chute I, there is an opening or recess 3 which al-' lows one of the line of marbles con tained Massachusetts, have inintervals being in the top chute to drop below the level of the others, and to be arrested by the front wall of the recess. In the construction shown, this recess is made by forming the chute 1 in two parts which are shown in the drawings as separated by a space suificient to allow the marble to drop to the position shown. It is obvious that, so long as the. front marble in the line lies "in the recess, the remainder of the marbles will be held stationary, but if the said marble ispushed out, it will roll down the chute 1, and the next marble in the line will enter said recess so as to arrest those behind.

In order to render the device automatic, the device for disengaging the front marble from the recess is shown as consisting of a finger 5 which is pivotally supported at 6 and which has a tripping-finger 7, which overlies the lower chute 2, so as to be in'the path of a marble in said lower chute. The marble actuating finger 5 normally rests in the position shown in Fig. 1, but if it is moved to disengage the front marble, the said marble will travel down the chute 1, while the finger 5 will drop back by gravity, so that the next marble in the line will drop into the recess-3, the. line of marbles then remaining stationary during the interval of time it takes the disengaged marble to,travel to the end of the chute l, and substantially half way down the chute 2.

If desired, the chute 2 can be provided at its upper end with a bell 8 which willbe struck by the marble coming down the chute 1, and thereby rung at intervals, the said marble, after having rung the bell, traveling down the chute 2 until it reaches the projec tion 7 and releases another marble. The single marble thus released is adaptedto operate on any suitable movable device, the toy being herein shown as a figure in the form of a clown on a trapeze, the trapeze 9 being shown as pivoted to the upper chute 1, and

as having a projection 10 which is arranged to be struck by the marble as it travels down the chute 2.

The operation is started by manually opcrating the tripping device 5 to release one ated at regular intervals, the time between the time required for a marble,to travel from the recess in the upper chute, to the engang member 7 v In order that t be readil 0 device may 10F marble, after which the figure 9 will be actu- 1 packed in a. small, space, I have shown eac of the chutes as inaderirr-two parts, the said parts being pivoted to a standard 12 and supported/when n operative position by stops 13." The standard 12 is supported on a base 14 from which it can be removed; and by taking 'ofi. the base and folding the opposite ends of the "chutes, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, the entire device can be readily packed flat in a comparatively small box.

What I claim is:

1. A toyl comprising upper and lower chutes inclined 'in' opposite directions and adapted to receive and guide a plurality of rolling members, the upper chute being provided with a recess whereby one of the said rolling members jecting into said recess and pivoted below the upper chute and being provided with a tripping projection extending into the path o f the lower chute; a, movable image, or similar device, pivotally connected with the upper chute, anda projecting portion conis arrested at a level below thatpf the others ;y-atrip'ping fingerpro- Lnected with said image-and-lying in the path of the rolling device as it travels down the lower chute. i 2. In a toy, the combination with a stand ard; a detachable base for said standard; inpper and lower chutes connected at points near their middle with said standard, the said chutes being made in two parts having uppercliute to arrest a rolling device therein; a tripping device pivoted to the standard below said recess and adapted to disengage separate pivo'tal-connections; a recess'in the 

